Backing for bookbinding.



G. HAGER & P. KNZI. BAOKING FOR. BOOKBINDING.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 30, 1909.

Patented Jan. 10,1911,

Z SHEETS-SHEET 1.

` me NaRms PETA-:Rs cu.. WASHINGTON, n, c.

G. lHAGER .& P. KNzI. BAOKING FOR BOOKBINDING. APPLIUATION FILED AUG. 30, 1909.

Patented Jan. 10, 191-1.

2 SHEETBfSHI-IET 2.

GODEREY HAGER, 0E sfr. JossE-TEN-NoonE, NEAR BRUssELs, BELGIUM, AND BHILIPB KNZI, 0E BERNE, SWITZERLAND.

BACKING FOR BOOKBINDING.

To all whom tt may concern:

Be it known that we, GODFREY HAGER, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at St. Josse-ten-Noode, near Brussels, Belgium, and Fninirr KNZI, a citizen of the Confederation of Switzerland, and a resident of Berne, Switzerland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in or Relating to Backings for Bookbinding, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to an improved construction of sheet or backing for bookbinding, whereby a fiat opening of the book can be effected and the signatures can be secured without perforating the iiexible backing injuriously. l

Backings for bookbinding, as usually constructed, are formed by gluing series of strips or cards of paste board on a wide flexible strip of fabric. These strips are arranged in parallel series at a slight distance one from the other. The sheet thus formed is then folded in accordion plaits. However, after having been sewn to the signatures, they have also to be sewn together, and to the bands or straps, and in doing this it is necessary to pass the needle back and forth between the plaits and between tlie book signatures, which is a difficult and tedious operation. In order to render this sewing easier, notches have been made in the cardboard strips forming the plaits, in order to uncover part of the flexible foundation, thus allowing the needle to easily pierce holes in the plaits through which the cords are passed. For the same purpose wire hooks or thread loops have been placed between the strips and passed through the flexible foundation so that the transverse bands or cords can be passed through them. However, this system of notches, loops and hooks has the great drawback that the flexible foundation is pierced so that the glue can pass through to the folds and then penetrate into the leaves of the book, thus impairing its fiat opening quality. The loops and hooks being separate from one another are liable to come undone and displaced when the straps are passed through, thus causing a weakening Orimperfection in the book. Further, the securing of the loops and hooks is a complicated, diiiicult, and slow work, as they can only be fastened after the book is completed. 1 vals transversely of the strips and cords, 11e

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed August 30, 1909.

Patented Jan. 10, 1911.

Serial No. 515,353.

The backing, according to the present invention, entirely obviates the above-mentioned drawbacks. llt can be produced in a cheap and continuous manner forming plaits with openings through which bands or straps can be passed and fastened, without perforating the flexible foundation.

According to our invention, we provide a flexible foundation of fabric or equivalent, in well known manner, with parallel strips of card and place and secure in the narrow spaces between each pair of adjacent strips and along their whole length threads or cords adapted to form long loops on the back of each plait, without any perforation of the exible foundation. Bands or strips of cloth or other fabric are then pasted or secured at intervals cross-wise of the strips and cords, whereby the latter are divided into sets of loops, preferably of the same length.

In practice this backing is folded in accordion plaits and the book signatures are then sewed or fastened to the inner folds or edges, while transverse bands or strips are passed through the different loops, without any perforations being made in the flexible backing on this side.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which similar letters refer to similarl parts throughout the several views.'

Figure 1 is a view of the flexible foundation material provided with the longitudinal strips and cords Fig. Q is a sect-ion on the line A-B of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a similar view to Fig. l, but showing the transverse bands -secured across the longitudinal strips and cords. Fig. l is a perspective view of a finished backing with signatures attached. Fig. 5 is a view of a book opened between two signatures showing the stitches securing the signatures to the backing and also showing two folds of said backing.

Upon a flexible support a of cloth or other suitable fabric are secured strips of cardboard or the like b, b1 51 b2, b2 etc. leaving narrow spaces bet-Ween adjacent strips, cords, or strong threads, c being secured in the alternate spaces. These cords are intended to form continuous loops on the exterior folds of the fabric when plaited or folded. Straps or bands (Z1, cl2, cl3 etc. of cloth or the like are then secured at interthus dividing each of the latter into a series of loops 01 01, 02 02, 03 03, etc.

It will be seen, on examining Fig. 4, that the bands e1, e2, .63, etc-which have the same function as similar bands in ordinary bookbinding-can be readily passed through the corresponding groups of loops formed by the cords c on the edges of the outside folds of the packing, in order to secure the backing to the book covers.

The signatures f .v f are secured or fastened in the usual way to the inside folds of the backing, as shown in Fig. 5. The small holes. made by these stitches being all on the inside folds cannot possibly receive any glue or paste when the book is secured in its covers, while the edges of the outside folds, which receive the glue, have no perforations whatever (Fig. 5).

In addition to the advantage that by the presentconstruction no glue can penetrate into the leaves of the book or between the folds of the backing, the transverse bands can be passed readily through the cord loops, which in themselves have advantages over the ordinary securing devices, in that they do not provide uneven thicknesses, as is the case where the cords are knotted, and are less liable to break or become undone.

Ve claim:

l. A backing for bookbinding, consisting of a strip of flexible fabric, a series of narrow sti longitudinal strips secured thereon with narrow spaces between adjacent strips, a series of cords in the whole length of and in t-he alternate spaces, and means for dividing said cords into series of loops, substantially as set forth.

2. A backing for bookloinding, consisting of an accordion plaited strip of fabric, a series of spaced strips of card glued to said fabric, a cord'in each alternate space between the strips having its extremities secured to said fabric, and transverse bands secured over said strips and cords, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof we have signed our names to this specification each in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

GODFREY HAGER. PHILIPP KUNZI. Witnesses:

A. GRAEF, GREGORY PHELAN. y 

